BGS Career Development

Making It Count!

Rebecca Lopez

Sign up to provide a critical mentored virtual research experience for URMs this summer

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Future applicants with under-represented identities in science and medicine (URiM) are experiencing significant setbacks in applying to combined degree programs this year and beyond. This problem has been significantly exacerbated by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. The Virtual Summer Research Program (VSRP) through the American Physician Scientists Association (APSA), a program led by the Justice, Equity, Diversity & Inclusion committee, is hoping to bridge this gap, and we need your help!

In 2020 we paired 150+  mentors, principal investigators and graduate students with premedical and pre-graduate trainees for mentored research experiences. In 2021, we are hoping to pair 200 URiMs (we anticipate 600+ will apply). Ultimately, we hope to increase diversity by expanding access to dual degree programs to those whose previous research experience was limited by socio-economic factors–and for this, we are asking graduate students, post-docs, and principal investigators in any lab or research group to sign up as mentors for this virtual research experience from June 14th to August 6th 2021. Visit https://www.physicianscientists.org/page/VSRP-2021 to learn more and sign up (note that your PI must sign-off although non-PIs can certainly mentor!). The deadline is May 1st, 11:59pm.

If we want the next generation of scientists to be diverse, we must participate in uplifting URiM applicants that are facing compounded roadblocks due to COVID-19 and ongoing racial and economic disparities that plague our nation. If you are asking yourself, what can I do to increase diversity in biomedical research? Well, this!

Penn INSPIRE Event – What INSPIRES you?

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The Penn Interdisciplinary Network for Scientists Promoting Inclusion, Retention and Equity (Penn INSPIRE) would like to invite the BGS community to our inaugural event, “What INSPIRES you?” on March 31, 2021 from 6:30 to 7:30PM. Our distinguished panelists will describe what has inspired them to pursue their career paths, their journeys navigating academia as URM individuals, bumps along the road and how they remain motivated in the face of challenges. There will be an open floor Q&A at the end of the panel.

Please RSVP using this link (http://tinyurl.com/InspirePanel) to receive a zoom invitation.

Neuroscience Public Lecture

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Penn Neuroscience graduate students are hosting a public lecture entitled “Neuroinflammation: The Brain’s Defense Mechanism” which will feature 15-minute TED style talks from three Philadelphia-area neuroscience faculty members: 

  • Dr. Chris Bennett  – University of Pennsylvania
  • Dr. Jennifer Orthmann-Murphy  – University of Pennsylvania
  • Dr. Elena Blanco-Suárez – Jefferson University

Date & Time: Tuesday, April 20th, 6:00pm EST
Location: Crowdcast Virtual Platform

Check-in and a fun neuroscience demonstration will begin at 6pm. Please see the attached flyer for more details. 

Please register for the event here: https://www.crowdcast.io/e/neurolecture/register

See you there!

The Public Lecture Planning Committee
University of Pennsylvania
phillyneurolecture@gmail.com

Postdoctoral Positions – Elovitz Laboratory

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Michal A. Elovitz | Penn Institute for Immunology | Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania


Two postdoctoral positions are available in Dr. Michal Elovitz’s laboratory  to investigate the host immune-microbial interactions in the reproductive tract. The grant focuses on addressing fundamental questions regarding the ability of vaginal microbes to ascend into the uterine cavity, the molecular mechanisms that govern microbial interactions with epithelial barriers in the reproductive tract and probes how microbial-immune pathways modulate the biomechanics of the cervix.

The project includes the use of our unique mouse model of preterm birth (survival surgery) and established pregnant models using microbes relevant to human reproduction. The scientific team includes expertise in reproductive biology, microbiology, infectious disease and engineering.

The laboratory is a highly collaborative one with sharing of ideas, models and experiments across fields.

The position is federally supported by two NIH-NICHD R01 grants. Our research group studies interactions between the host immune system and the cervical vaginal microbiome with the goal of revealing essential biological mechanisms that drive adverse reproductive outcomes.  The Elovitz Research Program supports bench to bedside research with additional NIH R01 grants supporting translational cohorts for which human biospecimens can be utilized to inform and validate findings at the bench.

The Elovitz research laboratory encourages women and underrepresented minorities to apply.

Please forward a cover letter, an updated c.v. including a list of your publications, and the names/addresses of 3 references to elovitz@pennmedicine.upenn.edu

Aro Biotherapeutics Seeking Investigator (Genetics & Bioinformatics)

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Aro Biotherapeutics Announces $88 Million Series A Financing to Advance Development of Centyrin-Targeted Genetic Medicines | Business Wire

Aro Biotherapeutics, a growing Philly pharmaceutical startup, is looking for a full-time geneticist / bioinformatician. Come join our team as we work to identify and develop extrahepatic therapeutics for rare and orphan diseases! 

Position Description – Investigator, Genetics & Bioinformatics

Aro is building a growing research team to develop novel Centyrin-based therapeutics. In this role, you will become a foundational member of the team. The ideal candidate will have a good understanding of human genetics and how to access and analyze genetic and other large-scale datasets. The position will require first-hand experience in bioinformatic tools for complex data analyses (e.g. PLINK) and statistical computing or programming languages (e.g. R, Python). You will have the opportunity to contribute directly to the company’s target and drug discovery efforts.

For more info, please see:

https://aro-bio-therapeutics.breezy.hr/p/cdca511f4994-investigator-genetics-bioinformatics